


Potterwatch Reporter

by GeorgeWeasleysGirl (hattersgirlalice)



Category: Harry Potter - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-04
Updated: 2018-12-04
Packaged: 2019-09-07 09:17:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16851352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hattersgirlalice/pseuds/GeorgeWeasleysGirl
Summary: Katie is captured and tortured for not giving away the location of the Potterwatch crew. She could never betray George, not after she had fallen so deeply in love with him.





	Potterwatch Reporter

Katie Quigley slipped out of the Daily Prophet offices at the Ministry of Magic. The day had been just as long and hard as every day was since the first of August when He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named had taken over. 

Katie was lucky, so far. She had kept under the radar. Katie was a halfblood. Her mother was a muggle and she had gone into hiding. Her father was a wizard and a famous Quidditch player. He was the one who had gotten Katie a job on the Daily Prophet as their exclusive Quidditch reporter. Thankfully, as long as one knew what the plays were, one did not need to hear to report on Quidditch games and Katie had been deaf from birth.

Still things were difficult. Death Eaters and You Know Who supporters were everywhere, even in the Prophet. Katie had a very difficult time keeping her thoughts and opinions of the new regime to herself. She kept her head down and did her job and nobody complained.

Thankfully, one day she met a young man her age at a match she was reporting on. Lee Jordan had been trying to take a break from reality when he had spotted the pretty girl and tried to flirt with her. However, Katie could not hear him. Being ignored was not something Lee was use to and so he got her attention by snatching away her quill. Katie had not liked that at all. She hexed him so that his lips sealed.

Hexing people's lips sealed when they annoyed her was her favorite thing to do. The hex allowed people, temporarily, to feel the way she felt being unable to easily communicate. Lee had panicked and used the stolen quill to beg her to undo the hex. 

When he had realized what he had done, Lee apologized profusely. Quickly they became friends and Katie became a critical part of Lee’s underground radio program; Potterwatch. She would work for the Daily Prophet and casually sneak some news to them. That was how she met George Weasley.

They had actually seen each other before, in the top box at the Quidditch World Cup. Back then George had been a student at Hogwarts and Katie had been homeschooled by her father. She had noticed the ginger haired boy sitting up front at the top box. There had just been something about him, something very different from his twin Fred, something she liked. 

George was soft spoken and a little bit less rough than his twin. He was easier to teach sign language to than Fred, who would get bored occasionally when he wasn't learning fun things like swear words. Katie found Fred funny and she did not mind being patient with him. George was funny too, but in a different way. He was the first person ever to make her actually laugh out loud. Katie thought often to herself that this was why she had fallen so deeply in love with him.

As much as she loved him, she did not dare tell him. There was a war raging all around them. George and his entire family were marked as blood traitors and Katie was only a half blood. They were all in danger of being captured and, well, Katie did not want to think about it.

Katie exited the lift and began to cross the grim dark ground floor of the Ministry of Magic. She was minding her own business when suddenly she had been stunned from behind. Immediately she regretted not taking the cloak that George had offered her, a cloak that would protect her from such a minor spell.

When Katie was revived, large boots were inches from her nose. One of the boots lifted and roughly turned her over onto her back. Rookwood stood over her, his wand pointed at her throat. He was speaking to her with a bored, narrow expression on his face. Suddenly he looked up at someone else, Katie had felt their footsteps vibrating as they approached them.

A fellow correspondent at the Prophet was talking to Rookwood, explaining that she was deaf and she could not hear him. Rookwood looked down again and smiled almost gently, but Katie could sense, could see the malice behind it. He wrote with his wand in the air. Acid green letters formed that Katie could read.

“Where are the blood traitors behind Potterwatch?”

Katie shook her head. She had no idea. She really had no idea where they were. The Weasley's had gone into hiding not but days ago. Lee had disappeared too, along with Shacklebolt. Honestly, Katie had no idea where they had gone. Ever since the Easter holidays, she had gone back to her normal way of life, no longer mingling with her fellows. Had this reversion to her old ways given her away. 

A boot came down upon her arm, her wand arm, and pressed heavily against it leaving a large boot print bruise. Rookwood pointed to the words again insistingly. Katie shook her head again and shrugged her shoulders. Tears were filling her eyes from the pain. With every moment, Rookwood pressed harder on her arm almost putting all of his body weight on her forearm.

“I know you have been in contact with the Weasley’s. We have evidence.”

Katie did not gasp or expressed any signs of surprise. She would not give into his unusual interrogation. Rookwood was almost going to break her arm, but she was not going to give anything away.

“Not going to give them away?” The foot pressed harder and Katie finally cried out in pain.

Through her tear filled eyes, Katie could see several other people coming to her defense. In the back of her mind, she was surprised. Most witches and wizards ignored her or brushed her off. Being deaf was just as low in the wizarding world as being a muggle born or a blood traitor in most of their eyes. She was considered stupid by most and arrogant by others. Many witches and wizards had difficulties with nonverbal spells and felt Katie was showing off by doing all of her spell work silently.

Suddenly, the pain in her arm subsided, but just as soon as Rookwood removed his foot from her arm, he pulled her up roughly by it. Her shoulder clicked out of socket and she screamed in pain. Katie had no idea what was going on through her tightly shut eyes. Her wand had fallen to the floor and Rookwood had her wrapped in a tight grip. Without warning he turned and they were whisked away.

When they had arrived at their destination, Katie could tell that they were no longer inside the Ministry. She could feel the cool breeze of the evening air. Her eyes opened a little. They were standing outside a huge gated manor. Gasping for air, Katie watched as Rookwood lifted his arm and the gates opened. Half dragging her, he pulled her along a path to the house and knocked.

They were allowed entry to the house and brought into a parlor. Katie was then shoved to the plush rug before two pairs of feet; one male and one female. Instinct wanted her to look up, but fear kept her prostrate on the rug. She did curl her arm underneath herself, afraid they might step on her as well.

The male stepped closer and lifted Katie up by her good arm, thankfully. Katie was forced to look into the grey eyes of Lucius Malfoy. He smiled cruelly at her. He began to speak. Lucius Malfoy spoke slowly and clearly always and because he did so, Katie could read his lips. They were once again asking the whereabouts of the Potterwatch group. Katie could not understand why it was so important they find them, unless, unless Potterwatch had been in contact with Harry and now they were in even more danger. Katie could only shake her head and half shrug.

The female, she now recognized as Bellatrix Lestrange, came into view. Bellatrix gripped Katie's long dark hair in one hand and shoved a bottle of clear potion down her throat. Lucius glared at her and was apparently snapped at her, but Katie could not tell as she was choking on the truth potion being shoved down her throat. She coughed and spat a third of it up as she tried to breathe.

Once again they asked her where the Potterwatch crew was, but Katie did not know. Now she could only stand limply in Malfoy’s arms. The potion made her feel empty. Over and over again they asked her tossing her around. Bellatrix began to break the fingers of Katie’s right hand. She did not just break the hand. She broke every single finger, between each joint. She may never be able to sign again. Katie was crying and writhing under the cruel woman’s punishment. 

When all of Katie’s fingers were broken on her wand hand Bellatrix gave up. She waved her hand and a small ratlike man came out of the shadows. He grabbed Katie around the middle and began dragging her downstairs into a dark cellar. 

Katie could not see anything. The cellar was completely dark, but suddenly she could feel someone touching her. Katie screamed and backed away to the wall. She could not help it. There was no way she could tell who or what was down in the cellar with her. Sobbing she rested against the cool wall. Her entire right arm hurt from being tortured. She wanted to go home. She wanted to know her father was okay. Hopefully he had learned about Katie’s abduction and had gone into hiding like her mother.

The person who had tried to touch her before reached out again. Katie had no idea if they were talking to her. She could not see anything and she was scared and in pain. She sobbed softly. The person reached out again and began to gently rub her good arm.

Eventually Katie’s eyes adjusted to the dark. There were two other people in the cellar with her. A girl a few years younger than herself was sitting next to her rubbing her arm and apparently talking gently to her. The other person was Mr. Ollivander, the wizard who made her wand. 

Things were made easier when Mr. Ollivander remembered her and the fact she was deaf, but not much. Katie only had one arm now and Mr. Olivander was barely able to sign the name of their companion; Luna Lovegood. Katie at least knew that they were good people who were prisoners like herself.

Katie’s arm was extremely painful, but she learned the first day there not to make a sound. If they heard her crying from the floor above, someone would come down the stairs and would put her under the cruciatus curse. Katie had never been put under a such a spell before; the pain made her arm feel like nothing. Luna had held her in her arms for hours after that as Katie silently cried. Silence was what she could do best.

A few days after Katie had arrived there was a commotion from the upper floor. Three more humans and a goblin were shoved into their dark cellar. A red headed boy, who looked so much like Fred and George, lit up the cellar with a strange lighter. Suddenly Katie came face to face with the legendary Harry Potter. She nearly fainted with the shock, not the shock of meeting him, but the shock of knowing they were all close to their doom. If You Know Who had Harry Potter in his possession, his domination over the wizarding world would be complete.

Then something amazing happened. A house elf appeared in the cellar. Katie was unsure of what was happening. Everything was happening so quickly and she was heartbroken that Harry had been captured. The next thing she knew she, the third boy who was with Harry and the red head, Luna and Mr. Ollivander were taken out of the cellar by the elf’s magic.

They appeared at a little cottage near the ocean. Katie took a deep breath of the cool, wet air. The icy wind felt good on her broken and mangled arm. The shock of seeing yet another red head sent Katie into tears. She fell to her knees on the beach at the sight of him. While the red head and the boy helped Mr. Ollivander inside, Luna helped Katie into the cottage.

Katie was soon introduced to Bill Weasley and his wife Fleur. Fleur examined Mr. Ollivander first. Katie did not mind. His injuries were far worse than her own. Then the others from Malfoy Manor arrived. Hermione Granger needed care too when she arrived. Katie was use to waiting and being invisible.

Finally Fleur had time to work on Katie’s arm. Unfortunately, because the breaks had happened so long ago, she had to remove all the bones in Katie’s right arm and give her Skelegrow, just like the goblin now residing upstairs. Dean, the boy who had come with Harry, Hermione and, the red headed younger brother of Fred and George, Ron, was the one to suggest the removal of the bones.

Since the cottage was so small, Bill suggested some of them move to his Auntie Muriel’s house. Katie, through the pain of regrowing her bones, volunteered. She knew there would be familiar faces there. Bill was really unsure, but Harry insisted he needed the goblin’s help and they could not move him. They certainly could not move Ollivander just yet and Katie wanted to go. At least there she had someone who could communicate with her.

Still in the middle of growing her bones back, Bill took Katie to their Auntie Muriel's. Katie was crying again from the pain as Bill knocked on the back door. Molly Weasley opened the door gasping at the poor girl’s state. Katie was settled down on a settee in Muriel's sitting room to finish growing her bones as Bill gave his mother an abridged version of what had happened.

While they were talking Fred and George had just happened to be coming down the stairs. At first they wanted to avoid the sobbing girl on the settee, but then they recognized that long dark hair. Katie looked much different now. Her face was gaunt, her skin pallid and of course her right arm was missing most of its bones.

The twins ran to her. Fred leaned over the back of the settee while George knelt by her side. They had to gently shake her to get her attention. She used her good arm to wipe away her tears so she could see them.

“What happened to you?” George demanded and then thrust his wand into Katie’s hand so she could write her words. 

Through tears Katie explained her whole ordeal to them. When she was finished both of them told her over and over how proud they were of her. She had kept her cool and had not betrayed them to anyone even though she could have and possible suffered less for it.

“I was so scared I would never see you again,” she wrote with George’s wand.

The two boys shared a significant look. Fred stood up and gently ruffled Katie’s hair. He said he was going to look for a snack for the three of them and went off toward the kitchen. George watched him go for a moment before standing and lifting Katie's legs up so he could sit on the settee with her, her legs now draped over his lap.

“I have missed you so much, Katie,” George signed. “I wanted so badly to pull you into hiding with us when we left. I have worried about you ever since. With good reason, given what happened to you…”

“George,” Katie wrote his name in the air a question mark following it.

“I have fallen in love with you, Katie Quigley. All of those times planning Potterwatch with you, you laughing at all my jokes. Your smile and your laugh. I love your laugh. I love you.” George had been looking down at his lap until then. As he lowered his hands, he looked up at her shyly.

Katie giggled softly. “I love you, too.”

George sighed happily. “After this war is over, we're going to do this right and one day, someday…” He trailed off flustered.

“Yes.” Katie wrote swiftly. “The answer will be yes.”

As one they leaned forward and pressed their lips together. When they pulled back, they were both blushing pink, but beaming at one another. George carefully pulled Katie into his lap and rested her head against his shoulder. He was not going to stray very far from her ever again and he was going to hold and comfort her until every single bone had grown back and for as long as he could, forever.


End file.
